Prep netters open state tourney
By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
April 26, 2004
If the weather cooperates, the MHSAA state tennis tournaments will get under way today at Parham Bridges Tennis Center and Ridgeland Tennis Center in the Jackson area.
All classes except 1A were slated to begin play this morning. Classes 3A and 4A will play at Ridgeland Tennis Center, while Classes 1A, 2A, and 5A will play at Parham Bridges Tennis Center. Seven area schools will be represented in the various tournaments.
Class 3A
West Lauderdale edged Newton County 11-10 for the Division 5-3A championship last week and the two should factor in the 3A championship picture this week. Both the Knights and Cougars qualified for four of the five events.
In boys singles, West's Scott Truesdale will open with Gerry Logan of North Pontotoc, while Newton County's Kennard Johnson faces Trey Lee of Collins in first-round play.
In girls singles, Kalen Anderson of Newton County takes on North Pike's Jessica Corban in the first round.
In girls doubles, Newton County's Dru Anderson and Laura McDonald will open with Winona's Ruthie Gant and Jenny Hammons, while West Lauderdale's Nancy Siefker and Lea Cook take on Cleveland's Cara Clark and Jennifer Gates in the opening round.
In boys doubles, West Lauderdale's Eric Smith and Josh Sonak face Columbia in the opening round.
In mixed doubles, West Lauderdale's Brook Bounds and Matt Schanrock open with Ripley's Stephen Stanford and Natalie Bullard, while Newton County's Josh Cook and Maggie McDill open with Natalie LaHaye and Nick LaHaye of Poplarville. Bounds and Schanrock lost only one match during the regular season.
Class 4A
Neshoba Central qualified for every event except for boys doubles. Wayne County qualified for two events, while Northeast Lauderdale qualified for one.
In girls singles, Wayne County's Susi Deubzer will open with Yakisha Partee of Jackson Callaway and Neshoba Central's Katie Cunningham will open with Lindsey Collins of Itawamba County AHS.
In boys doubles, Northeast Lauderdale's Tyler McNeal and Jordan Mathis will open with Brookhaven's Mitch Huckaby and Jeffrey Kitner, while Neshoba Central's John Kilpatrick and Phillip Savell have East Central's Justin Godlewsky and Win Williams as their first-round foes.
In girls doubles, Neshoba Central's Molly Talbott and Julie Gaines will open with Brookhaven's Lindsey Hall and Betsy Lynch.
In mixed doubles, Neshoba Central's Briana Stinson and Tyler Hardy begin play with the St. Stanislaus/Our Lady Academy team of Eric Cranford and Megan Terrell. St. Stanislaus, an all boys' school, and OLA, an all-girls' school, are allowed to combine teams in tennis due to the way the scoring is done.
Also in mixed doubles, Wayne County's Hannah Langley and Justin Westover will open with Petal's Kyle Hopkins and Ashley Labove.
Class 5A
Meridian qualified for two events.
In girls doubles, Meridian's Kourtney Harris and Kelly Sterling open with Gulfport. Harris and Sterling take a 16-0 record into today's matches.
Graham Woods and Will Compton will take on Ocean Springs' Cyrus Cooper and Amol Patel in the opening round of boys doubles.
Class 1A
Union qualified for three events when its tournament begins on Tuesday.
In girls doubles, sisters Clancy Cleveland and Kim Cleveland will take on Natchez Cathedral's Mattie Smith and Kelin Hendrick in semifinal action.
In boys doubles, Patrick Burns and Wesley Driskell will face Cathedral's Turner Smith and Clay Pennington in the semifinals.
In mixed doubles, April Barnett and Charlie Thomas will take on Resurrection Catholic's Cannon Ledford and Hillary Polchow in the semifinals.
Class 2A
No area athletes qualified for state in Class 2A.
